JULY 5, 1940

FRIDAY
1940 Coca-Cola advertising artwork
$1,000 INVESTED IN COKE STOCK (KO) IN 1940
WOULD HAVE MADE YOU $8,324,276 IN THE 2025 DATASET
Min Wage Hourly$0.30
Median Home Price$4,000.00
Gas Price Avg$0.18
Bread Price Avg$0.09
Movie Ticket Avg$0.30
First Class Stamp$0.03
Milk Price Avg$0.55
Top Movies From 1940
Show screen release and event cards
1 Boom Town
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Boom Town
2 The Great Dictator
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The Great Dictator
3 Rebecca
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Rebecca
4 North West Mounted Police
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North West Mounted Police
5 Strike Up the Band
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Strike Up the Band
6 Northwest Passage
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Northwest Passage
7 Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
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Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
8 The Fighting 69th
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The Fighting 69th
9 Santa Fe Trail
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Santa Fe Trail
10 Kitty Foyle
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Kitty Foyle
The Grapes of Wrath
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The Grapes of Wrath
The Shop Around the Corner
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The Shop Around the Corner
His Girl Friday
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His Girl Friday
Pinocchio
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Pinocchio
Waterloo Bridge
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Waterloo Bridge
Virginia City
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Virginia City
My Favorite Wife
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My Favorite Wife
My Little Chickadee
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My Little Chickadee
Our Town
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Our Town
The Ghost Breakers
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The Ghost Breakers
Dr. Cyclops
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Dr. Cyclops
The Thief of Bagdad
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The Thief of Bagdad
The Mortal Storm
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The Mortal Storm
Too Many Husbands
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Too Many Husbands
The Blue Bird
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The Blue Bird
The Invisible Man Returns
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The Invisible Man Returns
All This, and Heaven Too
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All This, and Heaven Too
Beyond Tomorrow
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Beyond Tomorrow
Road to Singapore
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Road to Singapore
Black Friday
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Black Friday
Gone with the Wind
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Gone with the Wind
Ninotchka
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Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
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Of Mice and Men
Allegheny Uprising
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Allegheny Uprising
Remember?
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Remember?
A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol

July 5, 1940 Trivia

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Exact-date daily brief

July 5, 1940

On July 5, 1940, a tragic incident unfolded in a city pavilion where a timed explosive device detonated after police attempted to remove it, resulting in the deaths of several officers and injuring five others. This bombing was pa...

Inventions & Breakthroughs of July 1940

Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.

1 Photocopier (Xerography)
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Photocopier (Xerography)
2 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Concept
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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Concept
3 Jet Engine Flight Demonstration
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Jet Engine Flight Demonstration
4 Synthetic Detergent
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Synthetic Detergent
5 Mass-Produced Nylon Stockings
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Mass-Produced Nylon Stockings
6 Proximity Fuse
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Proximity Fuse
7 Electronic Fire Control System
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Electronic Fire Control System
8 Polyurethane Foam
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Polyurethane Foam
9 Early Speech Recognition Machine
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Early Speech Recognition Machine
10 Automatic Anti-Lock Brakes Concept
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Automatic Anti-Lock Brakes Concept

The Sounds of

Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year

Headlines From July 5, 1940

Full News Archive

  • Headline: Tragic Bombing at World's Fair. Impact: The explosion led to stricter bomb disposal protocols, causing a butterfly effect that eventually resulted in modern-day bomb squads and a whole new genre of action films where police are always one step behind the villain. Fact: The police probably thought the only thing they’d be dodging was paperwork, not an explosion. Turns out, 'safety first' wasn’t a thing back then.
  • Headline: Honoring Stephen Foster with Art. Impact: This painting’s unveiling sparked a cultural renaissance in Kentucky, inspiring a new generation of artists who would eventually create the β€˜Kentucky Fried Chicken’ art movement, which is still going strong today. Fact: Stephen Foster wrote songs that made people cry, but apparently, he needed a painting to remind us of how sad we can be in Kentucky.
  • Headline: Inquiry into Arsenal Fire Incident. Impact: The small blaze led to intense scrutiny of military facilities, resulting in an overzealous fire safety campaign that ultimately caused a nationwide shortage of fire extinguishers due to excessive hoarding. Fact: You know you’ve really made it when your arsenal catches fire and all anyone cares about is the inquiry, not the fact that you nearly blew up some very important stuff.
  • Headline: FIREPLACE AGLOW AT LENOX LUNCHEON; 76th Fourth of July Party of Club Held With Mercury at 60. Impact: The cozy luncheon was so charming that it inspired a series of holiday-themed gatherings that eventually became the basis for the Hallmark Channel's endless stream of feel-good movies. Fact: Mercury at 60? Sounds like the perfect weather for a party, or as I like to call it, the sweet spot between 'just right' and 'I might melt.'.
  • Headline: PWA ORDERS FUNDS FOR CITY HELD UP; Washington Tells Aide Here Not to Pass $5,039,440 for Four Unfinished Jobs ACTION CAUSES SURPRISE Projects Are Court, Hunter, Bellevue and Triborough Hospital Buildings. Impact: The funding delay caused a massive backlog in construction projects, leading to a nationwide trend of unfinished buildings becoming hipster hangouts and art installations, thus redefining urban aesthetics. Fact: Imagine being so good at delaying funding that you accidentally create a new form of modern art. Congratulations, PWA!.
  • Headline: FUR GROUP DONATES $22,000 TO CITY FUND; Gifts More Than Double 1939 --Food Division Also Ahead. Impact: The generous donation by the fur group led to an unexpected rise in fashion trends that involved both fur and ill-advised cocktail parties, ultimately shaping the β€˜glamorous’ 1940s style. Fact: Fur donations doubling is one way to keep warm, but you’d think they could’ve just donated blankets instead. Fashion, am I right?.
  • Headline: 2 BOYS HELD IN SHOOTING; Bronx Cousins, 16, 18, Accused of Injuring Woman and Man. Impact: The shooting incident led to increased community awareness about violence, which eventually inspired the creation of neighborhood watch groups that still can’t agree on whether or not to call the police. Fact: Two boys holding a gun sounds like a bad plot twist in a coming-of-age movie, but in real life? It’s just tragic.
  • Headline: TOSCANINI PROVIDES SURPRISE ON FOURTH; Rehearses of Montevideo Only 'Star-Spangled Banner'. Impact: Toscanini’s surprise rehearsal led to an unexpected rise in patriotic fervor, causing a nationwide obsession with the β€˜Star-Spangled Banner’ that would later inspire countless renditions ranging from the beautiful to the utterly bizarre. Fact: Because nothing says β€˜Happy Fourth of July’ like a surprise rehearsal of the national anthem. I bet the fireworks people were thrilled!.

Wall Street Time Machine

The Right Call: A historical $1,000 investment comparison using the stored long-range dataset.
Rank #1
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Price in 1940
$0.06
Stored value
$3,433,941

Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1940, it would be worth $3,433,941 today (3433.9x return)

Rank #2
PG
Procter & Gamble
Price in 1940
$0.25
Stored value
$586,657

Procter & Gamble - If you invested $1,000 in 1940, it would be worth $586,657 today (586.7x return)

Rank #3
KMB
Kimberly-Clark
Price in 1940
$0.69
Stored value
$147,887

Kimberly-Clark - If you invested $1,000 in 1940, it would be worth $147,887 today (147.9x return)

🦸 Top 5 Comics
Batman #1
Batman #1
$2,220,000
Flash Comics #1
Flash Comics #1
$1,500
Green Lantern #1
Green Lantern #1
$150,000
Detective Comics #38
Detective Comics #38
$42,000
All Star Comics #3
All Star Comics #3
$2,500
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Lone Ranger Frontier Town
Lone Ranger Frontier Town
$150.00
Red Ryder BB Gun
Red Ryder BB Gun
$250.00
Sorry!
Sorry!
$30.00
Paper Dolls
Paper Dolls
$35.00
Microscope Kit
Microscope Kit
$200.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
Walt Disney Comics and Stories #1 Card
Walt Disney Comics and Stories #1 Card
$800
Superman Gum Cards
Superman Gum Cards
$800
G-Men and Heroes of the Law
G-Men and Heroes of the Law
$11.00
1940 War Gum Cards
1940 War Gum Cards
$1,500
1940 Play Ball Baseball Cards
1940 Play Ball Baseball Cards
$3,000